It's never permitted to be surprised at the aberrations of born fools.
I ought to tell you that I'm probably your cousin.
I don't want everyone to like me; I should think less of myself if some people did.
She had always been fond of history, and here [in Rome] was history in the stones of the street and the atoms of the sunshine.
... since she might not be splendid, she would at least be immaculate.
Things are always different from what they might be.